Texas A&M’s chancellor slams recruiting allegations levied by Texas pay site

In an official statement issued to the Houston Chronicle, Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp’s office has issued a stern rebuke to a report from Chip Brown of Horns Digest, the Texas affiliate of the Scout.com network.

Yes, the very Chip Brown forever immortalized in the Good Bull Hunting Tailgate.

Yes, the chancellor of the university issued an official smackdown to a writer for a recruiting paysite.

“Austin-based sports blogger Chip Brown’s last attempt to report on Texas A&M football, on December 17, 2015, was apparently only the first in a series of fairy tales he intends to spin. Chancellor John Sharp made it clear to another reporter (Brent Zwerneman) that Brown’s speculation about him trying to get Kevin Sumlin fired was indeed a fairy tale. And there is no one more unethical than a reporter who has been embarrassed by being called out for misstating information who then decides to seek revenge. This new report - a fairy tale on steroids - seems to be Chip Brown’s attempt at revenge.”

This would be where kids these days would print all the fire emojis.

Brown’s piece, titled “What’s Really Going on at A&M,” is subscriber only. In addition to steroids, it discusses internal squabbles involving Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin and financial problems involving the massive renovation to Kyle Field.

Sharp staunchly refuted the stadium issues:

“Discussing the budget for the redevelopment of Kyle Field, which was revised in December 2014 from $450 million to $485 million, Brown says ”...that I’m told actually cost $520 million because of $70 million in overruns...“. This is hogwash. The project was delivered on time and on budget. Anything outside of this would have required a vote by the Board of Regents, and that was never necessary.”

He also strongly denied allegations that he was personally involved in the recruitment and playing time of quarterback Kyler Murray:

”Brown’s new fairy story continues with lies about Chancellor Sharp’s involvement with Kyler Murray’s recruitment. Chancellor Sharp has never met Kyler Murray or his parents and has never been involved with his recruitment or the recruitment of any other student athlete. Indeed, no one has ever asked him to be involved in recruitment, and we challenge Mr. Brown to produce one student athlete Chancellor Sharp helped recruit. His unnamed “sources” have steered him way off course.

”Next on the list of falsehoods: that Chancellor Sharp was “blowing up the phones of Sumlin and Spavital starting in the middle of the Alabama game to get Kyler Murray more involved.” Anyone who was in the Chancellor’s suite that day knows this is 100% not true. He was watching the game with his guests, not dialing up the coaches.”

And then he just got plain MEAN:

”We respectfully suggest that Mr. Brown should consider sticking to covering UT football and leave reporting on Texas A&M to reporters who pay closer attention to the facts and who do not have some kind of personal axe to grind with John Sharp. In the meantime, we hereby nominate “Cowchip” Brown for sleaziest reporter in Texas, with full confidence he will win hands down.”

Good thing the suggestion was respectful, otherwise it might have looked like he called Brown a dried up piece of cow excrement.

Now, if you think all of this seems below the head of a major state university, keep in mind that Sharp also threw some Longhorn Network shade to the Austin crowd last Spring, and mocked their ex-former-rival-no-seriously-we-barely-think-about-them-anymore for selling beer and wine at games.

Granted, Brown has put himself in the crosshairs a number of times for some questionable reporting when it comes to A&M, and has been accused of being a mouthpiece for the UT athletic department during conference realignment talks in the last couple of years.

But Sharp’s... um ... pointed ... comments could easily be considered a little below the station of university leadership as well.